Stirred Not Shaken Ministry
Awakening the church to the time we live in
SNS Monthly Newsletter
2/5/15
Stirred Not Shaken Ministries
“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him…”Acts 17:16
Greetings friends, family and fellow saints saved by grace,
Communication. It is vital within the work place and at home. Making an important decision without hearing from the boss or spouse could lead to trouble. Imagine an employee who gets impatient waiting on a fax from the boss and makes a crippling financial deal based on assumption (or personal desire). That would be foolish you would say and most rational people would concur. His gainful employment would probably end immediately.
In marriage, the home wouldn’t be so “happy” if this kind of thing happened. Even with minor decisions that need to be made on the spot, carefully consideration of your other half’s opinions must be contemplated. Children must take into account their parents instructions and be obedient. Otherwise you would have chaos in a family unit.
Well how about our walk with God? Do we seek His direction and guidance? If you’ve been born again and your heart desires to follow Jesus Christ, how do you go about it? How does the Lord want you to go about it? If you don’t think the last question is important you should examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.
Having a sincere desire to follow Jesus Christ as Lord of your life is a great starting position, but sincerity alone does not necessarily equate to doing it in reality. Letting our “feelings” guide us is troublesome. Our “feelings” may be impressed upon us by the Holy Spirit or they may have grown from our fleshly attitudes. Often the ideas we come up with seem noble and honorable, but are they the direction of the Lord? Following what others say is God’s will about your personal decisions may be correct but again – how do we know? There are wounded saints aplenty that have fallen prey to wolves in sheep’s clothing. “I feel led to give Minister Slimebag all my savings because he said I would then be blessed by God. I know Evangelist Slimebag is a real prophet because he reads out of the bible once in awhile and makes me feel good.”
If you have bought into this line of thinking and been burned, it is not God’s fault. Feelings are an arbitrary guide. Allowing others to give us God’s direction may be disastrous. They may be misdirected themselves. Space doesn’t permit me to expound on the myriad of avenues people go down in searching for God’s will and direction. Dream interpretation/reading tea leaves/fortune cookies/using a Ouija board/consulting a physic/ attending a séance are all obvious sources from an enemy bent on misleading you. How about false prophets (& prophetesses)/false Apostles/false teachers who can use apparent signs and wonders/hyped up healing/miracles and even appeal to you through the social gospel (good works)?
When seeking God’s direction in something specific or in our general walk we must test everything through the bible. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Our “feelings”, which can produce lying assumptions, do NOT light the way. When listening to preaching, we must test what is said with what the scriptures say. The bible instructs us that we should be Bereans, who in checking up on the Apostle Paul’s teaching“…received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”(Acts 17:11) We must go further because many use the bible, twisting it to teach a cornicopia of errors. Think about it – if you sending money to some TV evangelist would bring you cash from God (as if that is why we are here), why do they not send out money to you? Wouldn’t that cure their seemingly constant financial ministry needs? After all, according to their own teaching they would receive a windfall of cash.
Don’t hold your breath waiting on that to happen.
Get alone with God in prayer. Be patient when waiting for an answer. Be humble enough to accept NO or WAIT. Our gracious Lord knows what is best. He knows allowing some of us to get rich would cripple our walk with Him. Not only read, but rightly divide the bible - that is let the scriptures teach and guide you what is intended by Him, extracting what they really mean. That is called exegesis. Reading into, or putting in a meaning that is not there is called eisegesis. Staying humble is necessary as a proud heart will dull your spiritual ears. Learning what God’s heart is by studying His word is vital when seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit never leads in a direction in opposition to the written word. Seeking God’s will and direction is wonderful and is something we all should be doing. We may not have a fax machine that connects to heaven, but we do have God’s communication to us in His word. He loves us and knows every problem and decision we are facing.
Remember the words of Jesus; “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”(Matt.28:20)
Apostasy Alert “…that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,…”
II Thessalonians 2:3
False Prophecies;
Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center, Dec. 31st, 1989
http://op.50megs.com/ditc/BENNY-HINN-ON-CASTRO-DYING.mp3
"The Spirit tells me - Fidel Castro will die - in the 90's. Oooh my! Some will try to kill him and they will not succeed. But there will come a change in his physical health, and he will not stay in power, and Cuba will be visited of God." NEVER HAPPENED!
Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center, Dec. 31st, 1989.
http://op.50megs.com/ditc/BENNY-HINN-HOMOSEXUALS.mp3
"The Lord also tells me to tell you in the mid 90's, about '94-'95, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America. [audience applauds] But He will not destroy it - with what many minds have thought Him to be, He will destroy it with fire. And many will turn and be saved, and many will rebel and be destroyed." NEVER HAPPENED!!
So exactly what “Spirit” lied about Castro’s imminent death, or when did the “Lord” start telling false prophecies concerning the homosexual community? Enough time has elapsed to show that the above two prophesies were false. True prophets did not make false prophecies – not even once. God tells us not to be afraid of those who speak falsely;
“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:22).
“Have ye not seen a vain vision, you've spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit [God says,] I haven't spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and you've seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD …And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people….Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace;…” (Ezekiel 13: 8 – 10)
True prophecy is 100% correct. I believe the gifts of the Spirit are for today but there are phonies, misguided brethren, egocentric “look at me” types that seem to crave the admiration of the nominal believer, and outright liars and cheats who being wolves in sheeps clothing make merchandise of the Lord’s precious saints. Be aware and alert my fellow blades of grass. Take care not to be led about by the enemy who is trying to keep you from bearing fruit, or robbing you of what God has put in your hands. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” I Thessalonians 5:21
MARANATHA!
